This article was co-authored by Diana Con Webber. Diana Con Webber is a Teacher in Arizona. She received her Standard Elementary Education, K-8 Certificate in 2017.

There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

Use the present progressive tense in Spanish to discuss a current activity that is ongoing and is happening as you're speaking. In English, the present progressive tense is formed by using a conjugated form of the verb to be followed by a verb ending in ing. In Spanish, the present progressive tense if formed similarly, with the verb estar followed by a present participle with endings that differ based on the spelling of the verb stem.[1]

Steps

Part 1

Conjugating the Verb "Estar"

1

Identify the subject of the verb. To conjugate estar, you need to know the gender of the verb's subject. Unlike English, gender in Spanish is not limited to people and animals. Everything has a gender, including inanimate objects.[2]

For living creatures, you use a noun that corresponds to the gender of the creature in question. Nouns that end in "o" are masculine, while nouns that end in "a" are feminine. For example, if you were talking about a male cat, you would say "el gato," but if you were talking about a female cat, you would say "la gata."

If you're talking about a mixed-gender group, you use the masculine gender. This is the case regardless of how many males or females are in the group. For example, if you were talking about a group of one niño (boy) and five niñas (girls), you would say "seis niños."

Some noun endings are gender exclusive. If the noun ends in -sión, -ción, -dad, -tud, or -umbre, it is feminine. On the other hand, nouns that end in -ma are masculine.

Be aware of exceptions to the general rules. For example, there are Spanish words ending in "a" that are masculine, such as día and planeta. There also are Spanish words ending in "o" that are feminine, such as foto and mano.

2

Choose the correct form of the verb estar. Spanish verbs have a different form depending on the gender of the subject of the verb, and whether the subject is singular or plural. Once you know the gender and quantity of the subject, you know which verb form to use.[3]

For singular subjects, use yo estoy ("I am"), tú estás ("you are"), or él/ella/Usted está ("He or she is." Usted is a formal version of "you," used when you want to convey respect to an authority figure or older person. It takes the third-person form of the verb, so translated literally this says "You is.")

For plural subjects, use nosotros estamos ("we are"), vosotros estáis ("you all are." Note that vosotros is only used in Spain, not in Latin America, which only uses ustedes as the plural of "you"), or ellos/ellas/Ustedes están ("They are." Note that Ustedes takes the third-person form of the verb, while vosotros takes the second-person form.)[4]

For example, "Yo estoy en la casa" means "I am in the house." This can also be written "Estoy en la casa." You don't always need the pronoun when speaking or writing in Spanish, since the verb form tells the listener or reader the identity of the subject.

3

Use the imperfect form of estar for past progressive. The past progressive verb tense refers to an action that was continuous, but happened in the past and is not ongoing in the future. Continuous actions in Spanish require the imperfect form.[5]

Part 2

Forming the Present Participle

1

Find the verb stem. To create the present participle, you remove the ending letters of the verb and replace them with the correct ending. This is similar to the English practice of adding "-ing" to a verb stem to indicate a continuous action. In Spanish, you typically remove the last two letters to reach the verb stem.[7]

Spanish verbs end in -ar, -er, or -ir. When you see those two letters, the part of the word that precedes them is the verb stem.

For example, the verb stem of hablar ("to speak") is habl. The verb stem of comer ("to eat") is com. The verb stem of vivir ("to live") is viv.

2

Add the correct ending. The ending -ando is used for verbs that end in "ar," while -iendo is used for verbs ending in "er" or "ir." Provided you're dealing with a regular verb, the result will be the present participle of that verb.[8]

To form the present participle of -ar verbs such as hablar, remove the -ar and add -ando to create hablando.

To form the present participle of -er or -ir verbs such as comer and vivir, replace the last two letters to create comiendo and viviendo.

3

Change the spelling of verb stems that end in vowels. Verb stems that end with vowels are irregular verbs, but the present participle is relatively simple to form. You just add a "y" so the verb is spelled like it is said, then add -endo.[9]

For example, if you take the -er ending off of verbs such as creer ("to believe") or leer ("to read"), you would be left with cre and le. Add a "y" and -endo to create the present participles: creyendo and leyendo.

Ir ("to go") is another irregular verb. It seems to be made entirely of the ending you're supposed to remove, so you would be left with nothing. However, all you have to do is treat it like a verb stem that ends in a vowel. That makes yendo the present participle.

4

Memorize other irregular verbs. For other groups of irregular verbs, you will change the vowel in the verb stem as well as adding -iendo to form the present participle. Since there isn't much of a formula to figure out which verbs these are, it's easiest to memorize them as they come up in your study of Spanish. [10]

In some verbs the "o" in the verb stem changes to a "u." For example, morir ("to die") becomes muriendo and dormir ("to sleep") becomes durmiendo. If someone asked about your sister, and she was currently taking a nap, you would say "Ella está durmiendo" ("she is sleeping").

For other irregular verbs, you'll change the "e" in the verb stem to an "i," then add the ending. For example, the present participle of pedir ("to ask") is pidiendo and of repetir ("to repeat") is repitiendo.

5

Place accent marks correctly with reflexive verbs. In Spanish, you use a reflexive verb to indicate that you are doing something to, on, or for yourself. This typically involves actions related to personal care, but other verbs also can be reflexive.[11]

When you add the reflexive pronoun to the end of the verb, it throws off the typical Spanish pronunciation. When a Spanish word ends with a vowel, or with an "n" or an "s," the standard rule is to stress the second-to-last syllable. For example, song is "canción" and bus is "autobús."

Since reflexive verbs can alter the accents, it's best to check the accent marks to make sure they're in the right place by referencing a Spanish dictionary. For example, "I am washing my hands" in Spanish would be "Estoy lavándome las manos."

If you're unsure about whether to use an accent mark when forming the present participle of reflexive verbs, say the word aloud. If you stress a syllable other than the second-to-last, you need an accent mark over the vowel in the syllable you stress.

Part 3

Putting Present Progressive in Context

1

Use present progressive only for current actions. The present progressive tense is made up of the correct conjugation of estar plus the present participle of the action verb. While this is similar to the way the present progressive is formed in English, in Spanish this verb tense is used in a more limited context.[12]

For example, in English you might say "I am studying Spanish," to mean it is something you are doing generally. For example, you might be currently taking a class in Spanish, or majoring in Spanish at a university. However, you would only use the present progressive tense in Spanish if you had your book out at that exact moment and were in the midst of your Spanish studies.

Present progressive tense will be used most often in Spanish for actions that you can perform while talking. For example, you can wash your hands while talking to someone. If you're in the bathroom and someone calls through the door, you might say "Estoy lavándome las manos!" ("I am washing my hands!") to let the person know that you are nearly done.

Keep in mind that often you can even use simple present tense to talk about an action that you are in the midst of doing at the moment you speak. When in doubt, this may be the easiest way to avoid confusion.

2

Speak in simple present tense if your action is interrupted. Since present progressive is only used in Spanish for actions you're currently doing, simple present tense is appropriate if you stop doing the action to talk to someone else.[13]

For example, suppose you are sitting in your living room talking to your friend Juan when the phone rings. The person on the other end of the line asks what you're doing. "Estoy hablando con Juan" ("I am talking to Juan") wouldn't be accurate – you are no longer talking to Juan.

In that example, you also could use past progressive tense to indicate that you were talking to Juan before the phone rang, and plan to resume that conversation later. This generally communicates to the person who called that they interrupted your conversation with Juan.

3

Avoid present progressive tense to discuss future actions. In English, the present progressive is used when you are discussing ongoing actions or actions that are happening at some point in the future. Present progressive is not used in Spanish in these contexts.[14]

For example, if you were planning a trip to Mexico over spring break, and someone asked you what you were doing for spring break, you might say "I am traveling to Mexico" in English. However, if you were speaking in Spanish, you would only say "Estoy viajando a México" if you were actually en route as you spoke.

Keep in mind that when you use present progressive, a Spanish speaker will take it to mean that you are currently in the midst of doing that action. Limit your use of present progressive to prevent confusion.

For example, if you are a student and someone asks you what you are studying, you would say "estudio español" if you were a Spanish major. The literal translation of this is "I study Spanish," but in this context it means the same thing as "I am studying Spanish," which is the phrase you might use in English.

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Tips

Listen to native Spanish speakers to get a better understanding of how people use the present progressive tense in everyday life. If you don't live in an area where Spanish is spoken regularly in public, you can do the same thing by watching Spanish-language television shows or movies, or listening to Spanish-language music.

Learning a new language can be difficult, but if you remain patient and keep practicing, you'll get it. Try not to get too down on yourself if you aren't able to pick it up right away.